


For the bones that tear

by Estirose



Category: Nancy Drew (Video Games)
Genre: Gen, Post-Game(s), Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-22
Updated: 2016-12-22
Packaged: 2018-09-11 02:19:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8949970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Estirose/pseuds/Estirose
Summary: Nancy checks in with Miwako the evening before she's supposed to leave.
(Major spoilers for "Shadow at the Water's Edge".)





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [saiditallbefore](https://archiveofourown.org/users/saiditallbefore/gifts).



Miwako was crying.

Nancy hadn't intended to overhear as she walked toward the main lobby - or whatever the traditional Japanese equivalent was. She did tend to overhear some pretty incredible things during her adventures, even when she wasn't intending to overhear. And with the slippers she wore, it was very easy to do just that.

She walked softly towards the front desk. It wasn't quite time for her to check out - she didn't leave until the morning - but she was heading towards the Cultural Room, with maybe a nice soak in the bath after. Both Miwako and Takae had been quite shaken by what had happened, though both of them had tried to stay composed - Takae having a bit more luck than Miwako, though Miwako seemed to have been doing fine.

If "fine" described what had happened to the inhabitants of the Ryokan Hiei, that was. Which it really wasn't, given the events of the last few days. Of the three human inhabitants of the inn, two were both furious and traumatized, and the third was persona non grata for the moment. Actually, Nancy suspected that he would not be very welcome there for a long, long time. She'd heard him begging Miwako for a second chance several times since she'd solved the mystery, and Miwako just as many times refusing to listen to him. 

As she walked a little more into the room, she saw Miwako cuddling Suki. The robotic cat probably couldn't purr - Nancy hadn't tried all the commands, so she wasn't sure - but she wasn't surprised. Even if Suki had been a present from Rentaro to Miwako, It didn't matter. Miwako apparently still loved Suki. 

"Miwako?" Nancy asked, crossing the room to the reception desk.

There was a pause before Miwako looked up, wiping the tears off her face and straightening her jacket in what was probably an attempt to look more professional. "I'm sorry, Nancy! I didn't hear you. How can I help you?"

"I couldn't help overhearing. Are you okay?" Being mindful of Miwako's feelings, she added, "Is Suki okay?"

"Suki is fine, Nancy." There might have been a small smile at the words, but her eyes were red and there were still tears threatening to spill out. At least there were no other guests for the moment. Maybe once it was known that the ryokan was no longer haunted, visitors of the normal kind would come back. Guests that the ryokan desperately needed.

"How do you feel about Suki?" The Japanese, as a whole, were pretty reserved. There were some exceptions, like Yumi, though even Yumi could be closed off in her own way. She was just not afraid to get in your face about it. "With Rentaro-"

"Suki...." Miwako looked over at the cat. "I love Suki. It doesn't matter who gave her to me. Isn't that right, Suki?"

As if being able to understand them, Suki meowed and looked at Miwako. Nancy had to wonder how intelligent Suki's programming was.

"Suki's very bright, aren't you?" Miwako asked the cat. "That's why it doesn't matter. Suki is more than Rentaro's present to me."

"I was talking to Suki's creator," Nancy said. She'd gotten a chance to talk to the man when George had introduced him to Nancy at the expo. "He's still working on the programming for Suki." He'd been delighted to find a fan of the cat - well, okay, a friend of the fan of the cat. "He's really happy that you're liking her."

Miwako smiled at that. "Suki is wonderful!" 

And as if to agree, Suki meowed again.

Nancy wondered if she realized how effective a guard cat Suki was. Of course, she'd never tell Miwako of what she'd done to keep Suki out of her way when she was trying to solve the mystery. As it was, she'd had a nightmare about being mauled to death by robot cat, followed by a nightmare of being found out while she was steaming that envelope. "I have the commands for Suki if you want them. I'm sure that they mean more to you than to me."

"No, Nancy. I'd like to find them out myself." There was a slightly wider smile there. Miwako hadn't really ever wanted the commands. Why should she? To her, Nancy knew, Suki was perfect as she was, and it probably was more realistic if Suki acted on her own, at least most of the time.

And then Nancy realized that she was mentally using the same gender for Suki as Miyako did. The idea of the cat having a gender was infectious. "All right."

"I think my grandmother may be waiting for you, Nancy." It wasn't a goodbye from Miwako, but maybe shutting Nancy out a little while she tried to gather herself together.

"Yeah. We're still working on my calligraphy." It would never be good. Nancy was a pretty decent detective, but her hand-eye coordination left a little bit to be desired. She felt like she was painting with a lead brick rather than a brush. "I have a few minutes. Did you find a place to put the sword?" She'd returned it to Takae and Miwako after she'd cornered Rentaro. After all, did she really need to be carrying around a sword? She seemed to pick up a lot of things that didn't belong to her.

"The sword? Ah. Yes, I did, in my room. Grandmother said it should be mine anyway."

The sword definitely seemed to fit with Miwako's personality - very traditional and in some ways very sharp. Well, at least it had been sharp enough to save Nancy from a watery grave beneath a Japanese inn.

"It does seem right." Nancy smiled at Miwako, remembering that she was supposed to go see Takae. "I'll talk to you later."

"Thank you, Nancy," Miwako said, and Nancy could see in Miwako's eyes that it was more than just politeness. It was appreciation. "Please do not be late for my grandmother's lesson."

"Wouldn't miss it for the world!" Nancy said, and headed in that direction. She would definitely never be good at calligraphy, but with Takae being able to concentrate on teaching, it was worth it.


End file.
